The Kent State men's basketball team will host the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday, March 17 at 7:00 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center in Kent. The Golden Flashes earned a number four seed while Tulsa is the five seed.

Tulsa is 23-11 and went 10-6 during the regular season to finish fifth Conference USA, losing to UTEP in the conference tournament semifinals. Tulsa features NBA prospect post player Jerome Jordan who averaged 15.2 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game and 2.4 blocks a night.

Should Kent State win they would play the winner of the Illinois at Stony Brook game. Illinois is the number one seed in the region but will go on the road to play due to a scheduling conflict at Illinois.

The other match ups in the region include number two seed Cincinnati hosting number seven seed Weber State while number three seed Dayton will host number six seed Illinois State.

Kent State is making its first appearance in the NIT since 2005 and eighth overall. The Golden Flashes earned an automatic bid to the annual post season tournament after winning the Mid-American Conference Regular Season Championship. Kent State has now qualified for the post-season in 11 of the last 12 years.

In all, Kent State played eight teams that either qualified for the NCAA tournament or the NIT. Ohio, Xavier, Pittsburgh, Wofford and Robert Morris made the NCAA while Northeastern, South Florida and UAB made the NIT.